TOUGH AFTERNOON: Wanganui City's goalscorer Jamie Lambe fires off a header against Red Sox Manawatu A at Wembley Park on Saturday. Photo/Bevan Conley
It was a game of two halves for Wanganui City in the Western Premiership on Saturday, as they battled their way to a 2-0 victory over a resurgent Red Sox Manawatu A.
Meanwhile, the Wanganui Athletic Women had their best showing all season, despite being defeated 4-0 by Lower Hutt City in the Women's Central League on Sunday.
City may have been expecting a tough match at Wembley Park but they certainly were not prepared for just how tight it would be.
Red Sox turned up with a point to prove and put the home team under the pump from the first whistle. They dominated much of the play and possession for the opening 45 minutes, pegging City back in the midfield, forcing the usually dominant Chris Annabell to chase the play a bit more than he was used to. Both teams were presented with opportunities but neither found the back of the net to put them ahead.
City looked like they were trying to force the play a bit too much, and create chances that really were not there in the first half, with the Red Sox defenders sneaking in at the last minute to disrupt the play and keep any promising attacks out of reach of the home team. With the scores locked at nil-all at the halftime whistle, City coach Kelvin Francis said the message to his team was a simple one.
"I just told them we needed to go back out there and play some football. We were out trying to score a goal from two or three passes, and trying too hard just to get behind their defence.
"I told not to panic, and get back to using the width of the park." The message was clearly received by the team, as they came back out with a renewed desire to take the win.
And that was rewarded within 10 minutes of play resuming, with Jamie Lambe finding the back of the net after being set up by Annabell, adding yet another goal to his season tally, and giving City the advantage crucially needed.
Tempers flared throughout the match on either side of the pitch, as both teams pushed to get control, requiring referee Matt Stoneman to issue cautions in an attempt to bring the match back to order.
With just 15 minutes left in the match, Annabell again became the provider for City's next goal, with Cody Wainhouse latching on to the end of a well delivered ball, putting the game out of reach of Red Sox and giving City yet another hard-earned three competition points.
"They [Red Sox] were a different team to the one we played last time, but they were more like the team we were expected to play," Francis said.
"They came here to win, and we had to work hard for it."
City now prepare for their next knockout fixture in the Federation Cup as they travel to New Plymouth to take on Francis Douglas College.
For a spectator on Sunday watching the Wanganui Athletic women face off against Lower Hutt City in the Central League, you would have been forgiven for assuming you were watching a completely different team to the one that graced Wembley Park in previous matches.
Athletic came out from the first whistle full of intent, and spent the majority of the half on the attack, pushing the visitors back into their own half, much to the surprise of the visitors.
Athletic created wave after wave of attack and forced Lower Hutt into showing their defensive ability, as the visitors often looked panicky at the back.
Rose Lockett was unlucky not to convert a gift opportunity, after she managed to get in behind the Lower Hutt defence and put herself one-on-one with the keeper, with acres of space to use.
With a Lower Hutt defender breathing down her neck, her resulting shot unluckily sailed over the crossbar, having easily beaten the keeper in flight.
While still controlling the game, Athletic were unlucky to concede a goal in the dying minutes of the first half, with Melanie Ragg beaten on her near post from a shot that squeezed between her leg and the goalpost.
With the scoreline at just 1-0 at halftime, the belief was evident from Athletic that they were still in the match and were ready to take it to the visitors, but Lower Hutt also returned with a renewed attitude.
They came out and controlled the game, turning the Athletic defenders back toward their own goal and, with just 10 minutes on the clock, they registered a second goal to their tally.
Lower Hutt again attacked Athletic's goal and caught their defenders napping when a beautifully delivered cross was sent toward the back post, finding a free player to make the score 2-0.
The women in red held out well for another 10 minutes before their spirit seemed to be broken when a lofty cross-cum-shot was delivered from wide out on the right hand side.
The shot caught a lucky gust of wind, catching Ragg out of position, and sent the ball sailing into the far edge inside the net.
Athletic struggled home and were unlucky to concede one more goal in the last 10 minutes, leaving the score at 4-0 on the final whistle.
But this was a vastly improved effort from Athletic compared to previous outings, and credit should be given to coach Donna Kahl and her technical/tactical assistant Neihana Kahl for their work in turning around the performances in such a short space of time.
The Athletic women now prepare for a tough test of how far they have come as they travel to Palmerston North's Memorial Park on Saturday, to face league leaders Massey.